Did you see the postgame conference? Both players threw out long and stunningly complex variations that completely transformed the position. It was a mind-boggling peek at the inner workings of player's mindsat this level.

So sad to see it all blundered away. One wonders how a grandmaster could possibly make such a catastrophic and short-ranged mistake, with twenty minutes in hand. But I've seen worse.

Someone should pay these guys to play out the game properly a few times! But I suppose before it could be organized, computer-aided analysts would have it completely answered.

1. The engines give what look like pretty playable variations that run some 15 or 20 moves further on. Given what was at stake, shouldn't Anand have played on in the faint hope of errors by Carlsen?

2. Will we ever find out what would have happened if Anand had blocked with the Bishop? I can't find much in the way of analysis on the net outside of a few computer lines with the note tacked on evaluating the position reached as still unclear.

3. Is there any chance of an exhaustive computer analysis? Maybe a co-operative search via internet using thousands of computers?

4. Is it possible Anand resigned in a drawable position?

5. Carlsen and Anand both gave lines at the post game press conference. Have they been gone over? How good are those lines?

Good call. I thought Carlsen would win it too, but wasn't expecting it to be by 3 wins (points), if this is how it ends. I imagine Carlsen, playing white, will just play for a quick draw and win the match later today/tomorrow (depending upon your time zone).

Magnus Carlsen wins the match!!! No need for the final 2 games since it is a best of 12 series.

Congratulations to Norway and all Carlsen fans!!

At 22 years and 11 months old he is the second youngest to win the world championship (Kasparov was 22 years and 6 months old when he won)

He joins this list of other world champion contenders who won the championship match with no losses (not counting the matches during the split era when there wasn't an undisputed champion):

Emanuel LaskerJose Raul Capablanca

And Carlsen is at the top of the ratings chart, which further puts him in a class nearly on his own. Time will tell with how many times he can now defend this title to see where he will place among the all-time greats.

If the thought of demons Never rises in your mind, You need not fear the demon hosts around you. It is most important to tame your mind within....

In so far as the Ultimate, or the true nature of being is concerned, there are neither buddhas or demons. He who frees himself from fear and hope, evil and virtue, will realize the insubstantial and groundless nature of confusion. Samsara will then appear as the mahamudra itself….

Funny this should come up. My internal analogy for crazy wisdom is based on this kind of chess. Let me explain:

When I was a kid my buddies were into studying chess. They read books on opening, strategies, and such. They could beat me playing blindfolded (and stoned), that kind of thing.

So one day we decide to review some Fisher/Spasky games. All their moves made no sense to me. In one game there were a couple dozen nonsensical moves, and then one guy resigned. Huh? WTF? Their playing was so far above what I could see that it didn't make sense to me. That's not to say they didn't make sense, just that I couldn't see it.

The analogy here for 'crazy wisdom' is that what an enlightened master is doing won't make sense to me either. That doesn't mean that what he is doing isn't making sense, just that it is so far above my head I can't see it.

Now this is an unpopular interpretation because we do not accept the idea that there are people that much more evolved than we are. Our democratic egalitarian culture doesn't allow for that kind of idea. But we do not have a history of people with access to advanced Dharma practices. For non-Dzogchen people the practices are supposed to actually change your awareness. Not change the nature of your mind, which cannot be changed, just the way it manifests it. In a much less dynamic way (advanced tantric practices being very dynamic) our own educational system changes our awareness too. Somebody that is educated has evolved (usually) and is 'more aware' than an ignorant person. It is definitely not the case that they simply have more information at their disposal. The effort they have put into learning has effectively changed them. In our educational system this change is a side effect. In Dharma this change is the deliberate, designed, desired and primary effect. The practices are supposed to change us. In a way a better analogy to our educational system would be going to the gym. Exercising changes your body; that's the point. It changes your body both internally and externally, and it gives you better health and capabilities. But since your mind has more capacity for development than your body, when someone goes to the 'Dharma gym' their development can be exponentially greater, hence 'crazy wisdom'.

I know a lot of people won't like that. But since we were talking about chess on a buddhist website I thought I'd throw it out there anyway.

My posts are for entertainment purposes only. Please don't take anything I say seriously unless you verify it with a real teacher first.

smcj wrote:But since your mind has more capacity for development than your body, when someone goes to the 'Dharma gym' their development can be exponentially greater, hence 'crazy wisdom'.

I know a lot of people won't like that. But since we were talking about chess on a buddhist website I thought I'd throw it out there anyway.

That makes sense. The Polgar sisters were trained vigorously by their father and it worked. Both are grandmasters at chess and Judit Polgar came very close to the world championship one time. Imagine if that effort was placed into Dharma development . . .

On another theme from your post, Carlsen was a prodigy and a GM at age 13. Where did he get that super high intelligence and skill from? There are numerous others who train probably just as hard or even more but couldn't win a game against him even if Carlsen was blind-folded and playing several others simultaneously . . . karma, rebirth, possibly . . .

Sorry for being a sore loser, but now I have to eat Rakfisk every week for 3 months.Rakfisk - Norwegian fish dish made from trout or sometimes char, salted and fermented for two to three months, or even up to a year, then eaten without cooking.

Lost a bet? I thought you were a vegetarian? Making an exception for the lost bet or were you always an omnivore?

Sorry for being a sore loser, but now I have to eat Rakfisk every week for 3 months.Rakfisk - Norwegian fish dish made from trout or sometimes char, salted and fermented for two to three months, or even up to a year, then eaten without cooking.

Lost a bet? I thought you were a vegetarian? Making an exception for the lost bet or were you always an omnivore?

No bet, no rakfisk - just a silly fabricated joke.

Basically, there is not even one buddha, only great wisdom. Bodhisattva Hsuan Hua

Will wrote:Back to the topic - seriously, is there any real competition for him now or upcoming in the ranks?

I don't think so. He has nearly a 100 point elo rating above the number 2, which is pretty unprecedented. It will be interesting to see just how long he can hold on to the title. Speculating of course, but what if he could hold the title for 20 years or longer? At his age, it is possible and then in that case he clearly would belong in the top 3 if not even number one all-time.

Also David, is your D-chess growing more popular?

No, not much. But that is okay; I did that just for fun. A few clubs tried it out on a trial basis, but none stuck with it. Fischer960 has the best chance as a chess variant and it also uses displaced pieces in the back row, but only 960 different starting positions and both white and black have same position. It solves many of the problems, but not all. There are not only many clubs playing Fischer960 but also even online. I believe over at chess.com one can play either regular or Fischer960 and you can have a separate rating for the type you are playing.